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Video Games
Setting Fallout 4 Pt. 2 (of 2) – On The Road Again!
Table of Contents
. . . with apologies to Cormac McCarthy.
Recently, rumors started circulating that Bethesda may be considering the city of Boston, Massachusetts, as the primary setting for the next Fallout game, theoretically the 4th numbered sequel. Though this rumor hasn't been confirmed, and is contrary to earlier statements, but it seems plausible. Not only was The City on a Hill obliquely referenced in Fallout 3 via the mysterious civilization known as The Commonwealth (and "The Institute", theoretically a scientific society emerging from MIT), but considering Bethesda's familiarity with the Eastern seaboard, it makes sense for them to set the game in a location that's within their geographic wheelhouse.
Last week I proffered an editorial argument about the aspects of the Fallout series that are uniquely Western, my conclusion being that setting games on the East Coast carries with it a loss of identity for what makes Fallout so refreshing in a genre quickly becoming inundated with rivals, rehashes, and pretenders.
It seemed a rather fruitful topic, and I was delighted to see so much feedback from Fallout Fans. After all, this is "The Dialogue Tree", not "The Screed Reeds" or the "Mahogany Monologues", and in the end I like to get a conversation going above all else!
But to make my opinion clear, I did like Fallout 3, especially at first.
Like many longtime fans of the series, that initial gameplay trailer gave me withdrawal symptoms I didn't even know I had; when I popped that disc into my tray late 2008, I went through an almost Jet-induced Fallout frenzy, playing it at all hours of the night for two weeks straight while losing plenty of sleep in the process.
But as with my eyelids on the subsequent workdays, the magic of the game didn't hold up over time. Or at least not like it had with the originals. Hence my prior diatribe was as much a search for what exactly it was that made them (and in my opinion, New Vegas) superior as it was a pronouncement of the Western influences I think may be the cause.
Also, I admit a main beef I have with Boston specifically is, as a "cradle of American history" there's an almost certain chance we'll see the Enclave again. After defeating them twice (thrice if you count Broken Steel separately), it's past time to let the faction die already.
However, just because Fallout 3 has tarnished, doesn't make it terrible. It has plenty of material worth exploring in future sequels, I just don't think this means the Western stories must die out to make way for them. If anything, I'm of the mind that there are now two different Fallout series at this point; one focused on the East, one the West, both equally valid . . . but then, I'm getting ahead of myself.
For what I'm discussing today is nothing short of pure, unadulterated (but hopefully still informed) speculation! The time-honored tradition of fans everywhere! Looking at something we enjoy far too much and saying, "What if this were to happen next?"
So in this spirit, I'm going to hop into my rebuilt Chrysalis Highwayman here, and take a virtual road trip through a post-nuclear America!
We're searching for spots that not only could be viable venues for the series, but should be. Locations that for whatever reason, call it fate, call it karma, but for whatever reason (Ray), are places where setting the next Fallout just makes sense.
I've got plenty of energy cells in the tank, some Sugar Bombs to munch on, and the radio's picking up songs from the 1950's for some reason. Well, the motor's running- so hop in and Away. We. Go!
First stop . . .
New York City?!
(Get a rope!)
Yes, yes, I know. I just spent a whole article saying western states are the heart of Fallout. But aside from the plot considerations I alluded to, there's a major reason why the Boston rumor has as much credibility as it does.
Not only is the Northeast mostly untapped in the Fallout world, but considering the popularity of the game (and the supposed "lackluster" success of New Vegas) a direct, linear progression from Fallout 3 makes so much sense from a sales perspective that Bethesda would have to be pretty dumb to not follow up with Fallout: New Fan Service. Say what you will about their abilities as game designers – lord knows I have – they're damn smart businessmen.
It seems that's what happens when you dump all your points into Barter and Luck!
My argument for New York as opposed to Boston is simple: why settle for the opening act, when you're really waiting for the headlining band? Like John Lennon said, New York City IS the Rome of the modern world, and there's little reason this status would've changed by the time the bombs fell, so it seems inevitable that a Fallout game will get here eventually. If there's going to be (ideally) alternating locations for the Fallout series, some in the East and some in the West, let's just get to the Manhattan Project everyone's expecting!
Plus, there's a solid (and practical, as I'm sure it saved available memory) level design concept of Fallout 3's D.C. ruins – the collapsed architecture meant much of the area had to be navigated through Metro tunnels – which could be used again in the Big Apple's vast network of subways and sewers. Not to mention the potential for local flavor and the film references certain to be involved. Off the top of my head you've got: Ghoulish remnants of the Mafia, a Raider occupied Wall Street, riffs on The Warriors, King Kong, among various movies, and those giant mutated sewer gators we keep hearing about!
There is a serious issue though. A demolished New York is simply overdone, not just in pop culture, but specifically in gaming. Post-apocalyptic (or near enough for government work) versions of the city that never sleeps are EVERYWHERE. Crysis 2, Spider-Man Web of Shadows, [PROTOTYPE](both 1 and 2), Infamous, and even early levels in Modern Warfare 3; I've seen the crumbling skyscrapers of Manhattan so many times that I could tell the level modelers where to place the rubble.
On the other hand, this familiarity could be a strength. That sense of loss that came from watching American history so thoroughly wiped out in Fallout 3, well, we've seen New York suffer from so many Godzilla Threshold attacks over the years that the fictional concept is as redundant as putting a blindfold on Helen Keller; the emotional baggage might be lessened, is my point. But then, after that thing with the DC Metro ads, Bethesda might be more cautious making a game featuring a virtual New York filled with collapsed skyscrapers (for what should be obvious reasons).
So, to mitigate that PR damage, let's just take everything I said about New York, drive across a tottering G.W. Bridge and settle for New Jersey, shall we? It's not like this is the first time anyone's done so.
Actually, if the plot centers on a G.E.C.K. gone wrong, where a "Garden of Eden" in the Garden State mutates out of control? That's not too bad; it could even steal some of the thunder from The Last of Us. You also get literal Jersey Devils of course, and we get to see the cast of The Jersey Shore mutate further thanks to radiation . . .
Heck, if the world map were large enough you could easily do both, with Manhattan being a central "D.C. Ruins Rubble-zone" to a surrounding "Capital Wasteland" consisting of Newark and the other Four Burroughs. Meanwhile the DLC gets set in Atlantic City for a Sierra Madre-like gambling den, Albany for some upstate action, and if you head up the coastline, oh hey, look at that! Boston.
New York City
New Jersey!
Neo New Knickerbockerton?
The combined New York/New Jersey region is still missing the "Western" aspect – you could crash that Freighter from Fallout 2 into Staten Island to transplant some of it, coughlost-plot-thread-just-waiting-to-be-usedcough – but the same goes for Boston. Similarly, both locales have roughly equivalent amounts of history to draw plot seeds from. New York is just bigger, and could be better as a result, especially if you tied in Boston as DLC, covering both.
Besides, setting Fallout 4 in the city The Dodgers ditched would allow for Fallouts 3 and 4 to mirror Fallouts 1 and 2 in terms of geographic relocation trends (just heading north and a bit east). And if the next game IS set in Boston, do you honestly think there won't be DLC in NYC? I'm just advocating for a reversal of the inexorable progression, really.
Anyway, we've dallied in the Gotham long enough. We're not trying to be Batman here.
Time to drive on south, visit our friends in Megaton for a spell – looks like Moira opened up a coffee shop, it's called Grind Zero (bah-dum-psh!) – and keep on rambling on.
Continuing southerly down the I-95, we turn west before we hit Ghoul infested Florida (and that's what is was before the war). After a spending the night in a decaying Nuka-Cola factory in Atlanta, we continue west along the I-20 for a spell, turning south once more as we hit that curvy, ladylike river, Missus Ippi.
This eventually brings us to . . .
New Orleans!
Picking a particular point in The South to use is tricky. While Fallout 3 was set in Washington, D.C., meaning it was on the southern side of the Mason-Dixon line, Columbia isn't really representative of what most conceive of as "The South". To differentiate it further, you have to make like Inception and go deeper. So, like in Live and Let Die, we go from one "New" to another, from the York to the Orleans!
Unlike other parts of "The South", the outsider's (read: Northerner's) image of Louisiana isn't all racism and hillbillies in a bog filled with as much Southern animosity as moonshine. Thanks to N'awlins, it's also wild parties, delicious spicy food, Dixieland Jazz, and outrageously revealing costumes on loose women enjoying the aforementioned. There's plenty of potential for diverse locations – deep marshes filled irradiated swamp water juxtaposed against the flaring laser-lights of a neo french quarter – new monsters – giant, exploding, mutant craw fish, (and Gators again) – and even a new currency – Mardi Gras beads of course!
Cajun and Creole culture would make fine replacements for that "unique personality" of the Southwest I mentioned last time, while the Voodoo traditions supply the requisite "kooky mysticism". Voodoo in Fallout would be especially interesting, thanks to all the "zombies" walking around in the form of Ghouls. Of course, there's the touchy issue of post-Katrina New Orleans being used as virtual site of total devastation, but A) it was done already in Infamous 2, and B) Fallout 3 showed a completely destroyed Washington D.C. – once you do that, what more you could do to offend people, I mean seriously.
The major problem is Point Lookout, which already covered much of this ground (er, marsh), right down to the steamboats and inbred antagonists. While setting a complete game here and embracing the entirety of the region's diversity would offset this, it still seems like more time should pass before people would regard a Fallout: Swamp Thing as anything other than a greatly expanded side story. However, that seems to be the popular opinion of New Vegas, so I guess it really comes down to how it's handled. It would just have to have one hell of a plot to convince Bethesda, methinks.
So with the chances of a swampland mystery dashed against the hard reality of marketable differentiation, it's time to Go West My Boy! Go west!
Driving along in the Highwayman, we continue out of the deltas and the marshes along the I-10, dodging gunfire from drunken ghouls after skipping out on a bar tab.
It isn't long before we head right in to where the stars at night, are big and bright . . .
Deep in the (Big) Heart of Texas!
Yeah, Texas. Where the West meets the South. The home of all George Strait's exes would make a perfect setting for Fallout. You not only get the intensely independent (often aggressive) patriotism of the state, but also keep the Western desert culture, too. However it comes with a unique Texan twang mixed in to it all.
I'm imagining Raider sniper fire from abandoned oil derricks while I herd Brahmin in a Ten Gallon hat here. Bighorner (or hell, Super Mutant) rodeos. Former Caesar's Legion members putting their Big-5 Armor to use and actually playing football! Still to the death of course – this is Texas, they take football seriously.
Besides, the place just feels right, you know?
Plus, any game set here could reestablish the Desert Rangers, the coolest faction from New Vegas (originally from Fallout's progenitor, Wasteland), as an independent burgeoning power thanks to Tycho, a ranger from the original Fallout, having been this way before.
In fact, the Lone Star State makes so MUCH inherent sense for a Fallout that it's been done! The best left forgotten Brotherhood of Steel was in Texas, exploring the cities of Carbon and Los Ybanez. However, even considering the game is non-canon (due to non-quality), a revisit to the area without heading into the panhandle would prevent crossover conflict.
Even ignoring BoS, there are still a couple concerns that give me pause. First, as the saying goes, everything's bigger here, and I'm primarily referring to the landscape. To do any Texan game properly, you'd either need an immense overworld map, which would certainly cause memory usage concerns, or you'd have to pick a core city to center it around, which would lose the appeal of such a large expanse. If you go with the logical latter option though, which single city do you pick when they all have excellent concepts imbedded into them?
San Antonio works if for no reason than having the Alamo (probably a Brotherhood base), you could easily spin the "Keep Austin Weird" ad campaign into a literal plot involving mad genetic science, and Dallas/Fort Worth could work as it has the largest metropolitan infrastructure. But if I had to choose one city, it's Houston. Not only does nearby Trinity Bay allows for pleasantly warm radioactive swimming, but because (as many point out) of the NASA connection – a plot centered around the nascent space program of the Old World has so many possibilities that it would be a shame to skip it.
Still, the bigger issue I see with Texas is one of long term storytelling. As I've mentioned before, I'm a proponent of endings – definitive conclusions create potency – and this goes for Fallout as well. Somewhere down the long and lonesome road, the journeys of our Chosen Vault Dwelling Wanderers should end.
But how? And more importantly for this article, where?
Well, consider the (as of New Vegas) continuing Eastward expansion of the NCR and the theoretical Westward expansion of the Lyon-led East Coast Brotherhood of Steel; you have the perfect setup for an ultimate conclusion between the two factions – or three if you factor in Walking Texan Desert Rangers. THAT conflict sure would make for an interesting ultimate battle now wouldn't it? Especially since they're all (pretty much) "good" factions, creating a maximum moral quandary factor rather than an obvious choice of siding between the "flawed, but mostly decent guys" and the "indisputably not-nice puppy kickers".
The logical site of this theoretical end war to determine the fate of Fallout forever would be in the middle of the slowly rebuilding nation, and the natural spot considering all of the other factors would be . . . ring-a-ding-ding, baby! Texas.
So while I DO want to see a game in the state of Big Hair and Bigger Guns, I also don't want it to be just yet, since it doesn't just make sense for a Fallout game, so much as it does for the Last Fallout Game.
Until then, it's probably best to heed Will Ferrel's advice, and not mess with Texas.
With grandiose dreams still fresh in the mind, let's hop back into the Highwayman and head due north.
After putting some down some miles while munching on some Gecko meat we bagged near Witchtown, Kansas, where they've been burning folks at the stake, one of those giant, hundred-mile wide cyclones I've heard so much about heads our way out of 'braska (is it carrying a farm house with it?)
Looks like we have to head west yet again, slowly chugging along steep hills on the I-70 (come on baby, hold together!) until the hills stop having eyes and become damned mountains, and we arrive at . . .
Rocky Mountain High! Colorado!
(and its subsequent Springs)
Colorado as a setting for the next Fallout is all about practicality, really.
If there's a spot that assuredly survived World War 3 intact, it's the NORAD base built under Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs. The installation is ripe for a different take on what happens when old-world government endures (as opposed to The Enclave's turn to genocide), and when you mull over the fact that they could still have access to a nuclear arsenal, well, that's a whole plot right there! Also, Nikola Tesla once had a lab in Colorado Springs. Who's to say you can't find an old Deathray design but actually build it now that the tech has caught up to his vision?
But wait, there's more!
Most of the other major cities and sites of Colorado, including Colorado Springs, Boulder and Denver, have quite a bit of the design work done already! The state was to have been heavily featured in the original Fallout 3, otherwise known by the codename Van Buren, after all, and much of the pre-production work was finished by Black Isle Studios before its untimely cancellation.
While many major ideas ended up in New Vegas (including Caesar's Legion), there's still quite a lot of interesting stuff yet to be culled from both Van Buren and even Tactics (which is non-canon) – including Vault Zero, the center for the Vault-Tec Corporation – that can be given a fair shake now.
Additionally, there's the behemoth in the room: setting Fallout 4 in Colorado would not only allow for a visual change of pace – other than Operation Anchorage we've yet to see serious snowfall, radioactive or otherwise – but presumably the next game Bethesda makes uses Skyrim's engine, so why not use its assets? They could save a lot of time and effort (read: money) in the art department by cobbling together another mountainous wintery region out of the one they just made! Thus leaving them more time to focus on more important stuff, like game balance, bugs, and good endings!
As with Louisiana, the problem with Colorado is contrast from previous games. While buffeting the player with blizzards would be (mostly) unique to Fallout, it's not like anyone's forgetting Skyrim any time soon. On top of that, many of the better concepts that could be used – a pristine military installation with access to gobs of the Pre-War tech, and active nuclear missiles silos – were touched upon in Old World Blues and The Lonesome Road respectively.
So unfortunately, despite the practicality, we're going to have to head on out of the Centennial State. If only we can get the danged engine to turn on this blasted Highwayman!
Come on, ignite. You can do it. You can do it. . . there it goes!
Uh-oh. Even though I got the damn thing to start, it looks like we're running out of fuel. We'll never make it to Seattle in this situation!
With the mutagenic coffee supply turning all the bohemians into Bone-Hooligans, it's fascinating layout next to Puget Sound, and it's native tribe, "Hawks by the Sea", Seattle would have been a perfect spot to end this road trip!
Considering our dire straits though – we're going to have to try to coast down the mountains while dodging leftover NCR landmines in the road – I'm heading toward someplace closer.
Someplace even better.
Where it all Began.
Los Alamos, the birthplace of the atomic bomb.
Without any hyperbole (but with bold text) – if there's one location a Fallout game absolutely needs to be set in, it's here.
Not already including Los Alamos, and the greater Santa Fe region it's within proximity of, is such a massive oversight to this series that it's mind-boggling that it hasn't already been done!
Except it almost was. In Van Buren. Oh.
Yup, the one location that makes all the sense in the world for Fallout, a place that would fit the Southwestern themes established by the first two games in the series because it's in the Southwest . . . just had to be in the numbered game that got cancelled!
As with Colorado, this means a lot of salvageable ideas can still be used. Stuff like the The Reservation, home to a Ghoulish breeding program. Like Mesa Verde. Like Tribal "Goddess" Hecate and her deathly daughters.
Aside from being the perfect location for poetic license and for getting to cherry pick the best of the rest from Van Buren, the region has caravans loads of creative potential!
The "even-before-the-war" radiation could justify all sorts of highly "evolved" mutant monsters. A little ways south lies Albuquerque, home to catchy Weird Al songs and a minor league team, The Isotopes, just waiting to be turned into a roving raider gang. There's also the Navajo presence – did they reclaim their ancestral lands when the American Empire fell?
When you toss DLC into the mix, the ideas get richer than Tenpenny. Colorado's near enough to take the best ideas from that location, and enjoy them here. Further south lies Mexico proper, specifically Ciudad Juárez, a wretched hive of scum and villainy even today, a perfect New New Reno tomorrow. Lest we forget, there's Roswell, along with the ever mysterious Area 51 and the possibility of delving into the extraterrestrial elements of the Fallout universe without needing to be a joke.
Then there's the fact that New Mexico allows for definite continuity from New Vegas, which had a much more open ending than Fallout 3. Who won the War for Vegas? House? The NCR? The Legion? Did the Courier usurp Ulysses' (himself a member of Hecate's original tribe) control and nuke everybody? All of those questions can be resolved, expanded upon, or rewritten – but only if the next game is set relatively close by, like in Santa Fe.
At the end of the day though, it's only fitting that Fallout, a twisted bit of Americana based on 1940's and 50's conceptions of atomic science still naive to the horror they were building, should go to the exact place where this terrible discovery began.
There's symmetry in that. Beauty, even.
But then, these are all just my speculative hopes and wishes for a series I obviously love like the desert that was my home. Sure, New Mexico lets the Western tradition of Fallout continue, while also progressing along an ambling eastward trail, but it does make sense to set other games in the East. If only so they can slowly amble West.
While I still insist New York is the better choice, Boston won't be awful if (and when) it happens. I'm not too keen on the Institute's miniaturized robotics technology so much more advanced than what the rest of the games' universe exhibits – it's more cyber punk than atom punk – maybe Bethesda can even make it work. Unlikely perhaps, but there's still bound to be some good to come out of it too.
Synthetic citizens dressed as tribals throwing Nuka-Cola off the deck of USS Constitution, maybe?
As for me? Well, the Highwayman's now a scrap heap ditched into a bomb crater. The fuel cells ran dry while I was coasting my way to Santa Fe, and the steering locked up while I headed toward the radioactive pit. Had to bail fast. Twas quite the explosion though.
Looks like I'll be walking back home now.
I'll need some traveling music to pass the time while I pass the miles though. There's a long road ahead of me, even longer than this article.
If I'm to be shot by some raiders while on it, I'd rather it be while I'm whistling.
Until next time fellow Vault Dwellers. Whenever that might be.
As one of the unfortunate few born with three first names, Adam endured years of taunting on the mean streets of Los Angeles in order to become the cynical malcontent he is today. A gamer since the age of four, he has attempted to remain diverse in his awareness of the arts, and remain active in current theater, film, literary and musical trends when not otherwise writing or acting himself. He now offers his knowledge in these areas up to the "California Literary Review," who still haven't decided what exactly they want to do with him yet. He prefers to be disagreed with in a traditional "Missile Command" high score contest, and can be challenged this way via his Xbox LIVE Gamertag of AtomGone, and if you want to "follow" him on twitter, look for Adam Robert Thomas


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Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja
(A Morning Walk)
Hong Kong: April 15, 2008
[Kamala Kanta dasa:] Some people think, "I am doing so much. I am chanting and following the process, but I am suffering."
[Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja:]: This means that they are not really devotees. A pure devotee cannot think like this.
[Kamala Kanta dasa:] What about the madhyama (intermediate devotee), or the kanistha (neophyte devotee)?
[Srila Narayanaa Maharaja:] A kanistha may think like this, but a pure Vaisnava will not think like this.
[Kamala Kanta dasa:] In his commentary of the 10th Canto Srimad-Bhagavatam Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura gives three reasons why devotees suffer: to maintain the confidentiality of devotional service, and to not uproot the opinions of atheists. [Bhakti destroys prarabdha-karma, so the devotee never actually suffers or even grows old. To protect the confidentiality of bhakti and not disturb atheists, yogamaya gives the impression that Vaisnavas grow old and die like everyone else.] And the third, to increase the hankering of the devotee. Is this correct?
[Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja:] This is okay. Devotees who are chanting Sri Krsna's name and practicing pure devotion to Krsna have no karma. For them, suffering and problems that come to them means that Krsna wants them to be humble and tolerant. Such devotees should think, "Oh, I am very wretched." This humility will come. So, Krsna personally gives them this suffering. It is not the fruit of their karma.
[Sripad Giri Maharaja:] A devotee thinks that karma is not punishment; it is Krsna's mercy?
[Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja:] Yes, he thinks in this way. He thinks it is coming by the mercy of Krsna.
tat te 'nukampam su-samiksamano
bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam
hrd-vag-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jiveta yo mukti-pade sa daya-bhak
[My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.14.8)]
He thinks it is both karma and Krsna's mercy. He should tolerate all his sufferings, thinking, 'Krsna has given me these sufferings for me to learn tolerance. One who is always offering obeisances to Krsna, by body, mind, and words, is happy and becomes an inheritor of bhakti.
[Sripad Madhava Maharaja:] If some senior devotees are speaking with each other, and junior devotees, without any consideration, start speaking, is this good or not?
[Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja:]: This is not right.
[Sripad Madhava Maharaja:] It is an offence?
[Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja:] It is not an offence – it is ignorance. He should wait. It means he was not raised in a good family. He has not learned proper etiquette.
[Uttama-krsna dasa:] Gurudeva, about the quality of karma: if I have a chance to beat somebody, does that mean that person previously beat me? For example, if he owed me $10 dollars, but didn't pay me back. Is it like this?
[Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja:] No, we should tolerate, as Srila Haridasa Thakura was tolerant. He was beaten in twenty-two marketplaces, but he never said, "Don't beat me." Prahlada Maharaja was given poison, he was put in fire, and he was tortured in so many other ways. But he never thought, "I will take revenge against my father." This is not Vaisnava etiquette.
[Sripad Padmanabha Maharaja:] What if that devotee is thinking, "Somebody is coming to kill me." After all, this body belongs to Gurudeva.
[Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja:] You are not Prahlada or Sita-devi. You should try to escape, to save your life.
[Sripad Damodara Maharaja:] Sri Nityananda prabhu ran away when Jagai and Madhai went to beat him. Srila Haridasa Thakura also ran away.
[Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja:] Maha-bhagavatas never run away. *[See endnote 1] They know that Krsna is present with them. They know that the Lord's Sudarsana-cakra (His disc weapon) will come and finish that person.
[Yadunatha dasa:] The Pandavas were insulted, and it seemed that they fought back. Does this mean that they are not maha-bhagavatas?
[Madhava Maharaja:] Krsna made them instruments to remove the burden of the world.
[Srila Narayana Gosvami Maharaja:] Seeing all his relatives, Arjuna was thinking, "I cannot kill them. Begging is better than fighting for a kingdom and opulence. Why should I fight just for this kingdom?" Sri Krsna told him, "You should fight." He inspired Arjuna to fight, but He never inspired Duryodhana.
Sri Krsna was the only cause of Arjuna's fighting. Moreover, Arjuna did not fight to fulfill His own desire. He did not fight for the Pandavas. Whatever we do, it should be to please Krsna. There should be no other reason.
[*Endnote –
Nityananda Prabhu and Srila Haridasa Thakura were not really afraid. It is stated in Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura's Sri Caitanya-Bhagavata (Madhya-kanda chapter 13):
"The two rogues were now chasing the two saints and although they cried out, "Catch them! Catch them!" they were still not near them. Nityananda said, "My dear Vaisnava, Haridasa, we have got ourselves into a fine mess, we can call ourselves lucky if we come out of this alive!" Thakura Haridasa replied, "O Lord, what is the use of talking, acting on Your advice we now face unnatural or violent death. On account of You, we have given instructions on the Holy Name of Krsna to these two faithless drunkards and now we are earning our due reaction and punishment: death!"
"Speaking in this manner, Lord Nityananda and Haridasa continued to run laughing gleefully, while the two rogues chased after them, hurling loud abuse. The drunks' bodies were ugly and fat, so movement was difficult; yet, they continued to run after Haridasa and Nityananda shouting, "O brothers, where do you think you can go? How will you escape Jagai and Madhai today? You seem to not know that Jagai and Madhai move about in this area, so stay a while and get acquainted with this place nicely." These words further spurred on Haridasa and Nityananda and they kept chanting, "Save us Krsna! Save us Krsna! O Govinda!"
"Haridasa said to Nityananda, "Lord Krsna saved me sometime back from the cruel hands of my Muslim tormentors, but today due to my companion's restless nature and lack of mature intelligence I am about to face my final end."
"Lord Nityananda replied, "You are incorrect, this restlessness is not My real nature, it is manifesting in this manner due to the spiritual ecstasies of your master, Sri Caitanya. Although He is a brahmana, He is relaying orders like some king! By His orders, we go from door to door, although I have never heard of anyone else giving such kind of orders. In the process of executing His order, our only remuneration is harsh abusive words and false accusations by the people. If we do not carry out His orders then we are finished and if we do then this present dilemma is our answer. As for blaming someone for all this, you single Me out, but in fact your master has also a share in this!"
"The two carried on their verbal mock fight with each other with great pleasure whilst still being chased by the two drunken rogues. Running, they went in the direction of Srivasa Pandita's house and the two rogues were left behind to run around in circles confused by intoxication. The two rogues were confounded looking in all directions. They had no idea where the two saints had gone; they just gave up the chase and went about shuffling.
"Nityananda and Haridasa after a little rest turned back to check if the rogues were still chasing them. They got up, embraced each other in laughter, and went to see Sri Caitanya."]


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Appraise Your Car in Waxahachie, TX
Allow the professional Waxahachie Nissan team to value your trade in by completing the secure form below! We'll value your vehicle, being sure to go over all the ways you cared for your car over the years before completing our fair appraisal. While we review your car's information, take some time to explore our new Nissan inventory or complete a credit application so that you can trade-in and trade up today! Our new and used Nissan dealership near Midlothian, TX looks forward to speaking with you soon.


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Feedback from Home Study course participants through the years has provided us insight into the value of viewing a Home Study Primary Course before or after a Live or Live Stream Primary Course attendance. *You will have 21 days to complete the home study from the time you receive online access. In an effort to further promote successful clinical integration of PRI course concepts, we are now offering:
1) Half-priced tuition to complete the Online Home Study (if you have attended the same Live Primary Course or Live Stream in the past 12 months).
2) Half-priced tuition to attend the Live Course, or Live Stream (if you have completed the same Online Home Study Primary Course in the past 12 months).
The benefit of twice hearing the information presented, seeing the instructor demonstrate clinical tests and techniques, and participating in person and participating through virtual attendance gives the attendee a clear advantage for learning and grasping concepts in a shorter amount of time and at a deeper level of understanding. Please call us to take advantage of this discounted learning opportunity!


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Product Profitability
One of the easiest things for an entrepreneur to do is to focus so much on getting the product or service right and satisfying the customer that one forgets to make any actual profit. After all, being in business is all about making profit.
Many accounting systems have the capability to record profit by product/service and yet most entrepreneurs do not get access to this sort of information. The checklist available for download in the right hand panel identifies the various methods of identifying profit by product in your business.


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WASHINGTON — President Trump nominated federal judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court on Monday, elevating a conservative stalwart with deep ties to the Republican establishment to succeed retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy and triggering a partisan war over the court's future.
Kavanaugh, 53, serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and worked in George W. Bush's White House before moving to the federal bench. He served as a clerk to Kennedy in the early 1990s alongside Justice Neil Gorsuch, whom Trump nominated for the Supreme Court last year.
"In keeping with President Reagan's legacy, I do not ask about a nominee's personal opinions," Trump said in an announcement in the East Room of the White House. "What matters is not a judge's political views but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the Constitution require. I am pleased to say that I have found, without doubt, such a person."
Kavanaugh – who was joined by his wife, two daughters and parents – told Trump that he has "witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the American judiciary."
"No president has ever consulted more widely or talked with more people from more backgrounds to seek input about a Supreme Court nomination," Kavanaugh said. "Mr. President, I am grateful to you, and I am humbled by your confidence in me."
He described his judicial philosophy as "straightforward."
"A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law," Kavanaugh said. "A judge must interpret statutes as written. And a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent."
My statement on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh https://t.co/R8SNnDGOXL pic.twitter.com/2O8kDjGurU
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) July 10, 2018
Kavanaugh's remarks, which included a bevy of stories about his background and family, appeared designed to cast him as an ally of women in advance of a nomination battle expected to center in part on his views on abortion and contraception.
He spoke at length about his two "spirited" daughters, whose basketball teams he has coached for the past seven years. He credited his wife, Ashley, whom he met when they both worked for Bush, for being a source of strength in the White House after the Sept. 11 attacks. He noted that a majority of his law clerks were women.
And Kavanaugh said he was first exposed to law by his mother, who practiced her closing arguments at the dinner table as a prosecutor before becoming a trial judge.
"Her trademark line was, 'Use your common sense. What rings true? What rings false?' " Kavanaugh recounted. "That's good advice for a juror and for a son."
Kavanaugh's link to the Bush political dynasty gave Trump pause during the search process, and he peppered associates with questions about whether "my base" would embrace him. But ultimately, prodded by top advisers and veteran Republicans, Trump decided that Kavanaugh's lengthy conservative judicial record made up for any lingering concerns about how some of his core supporters would view the pick, White House officials said.
Debates over Kavanaugh's career paper trail, from the Bush White House to investigating President Bill Clinton under independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr, in addition to his extensive legal writings, are expected to dominate his hearings, according to Republican and Democratic aides in the Senate preparing for those sessions.
Republican leaders firmly believe that Kavanaugh could be instrumental in pitching the ideological makeup of the court to the right and leaving a conservative imprint on the law for a generation. They also see the coming confirmation fight as a chance to galvanize their voters ahead of this year's midterm elections, where the GOP's 51-seat Senate majority is at risk.
"I will lift heaven and Earth to see that he is confirmed," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said.
Kennedy, who was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, had long served as the pivotal swing vote on the court.
Democrats are preparing for what they hope will be a prolonged showdown on Capitol Hill – determined to rally in defense of Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights decision; LGBTQ rights; and same-sex marriage – all areas of the law that they fear could be ruptured by the court.
"I will oppose Judge Kavanaugh's nomination with everything I have," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
Kavanaugh was one of four federal judges who emerged as Trump's finalists after interviews early last week. Amy Coney Barrett, Thomas Hardiman and Raymond Kethledge were also vetted by the White House and considered by Trump in recent days.
Each of them had certain blocs of Trump's circle or the Republican Party serving as their advocates.
Kavanaugh was boosted by the Bush network and legal conservatives; Barrett was touted by social conservatives; Hardiman was recommended by the president's sister and sometimes-confidante, retired federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry.
The conservative American Family Association, which had been urging Trump to appoint Barrett, was one of few groups on the right to denounce his pick.
"Judge Kavanaugh's reasoning on religious liberty, Obamacare and issues concerning life have proven to be of major concern," said AFA President Tim Wildmon in a statement that asked Trump to rethink the decision.
Kavanaugh impressed Trump with his polished presentation, Ivy League credentials and the assurance from confidants inside and outside the White House that Kavanaugh's legal writings were proof that he would not drift to the left over the years, an anxiety on the right during court openings shared not only by the president but by many GOP leaders. For Trump, Kavanaugh was someone in the Gorsuch mold, White House officials said, and the president was keen to have his second court pick garner a similar wave of praise from Republicans.
Trump and Kavanaugh kept in touch over the weekend, according to one person briefed on those exchanges.
Trump, who has relished the spectacle of secrets being revealed and shortlists being winnowed since his days hosting NBC's "The Apprentice," entered the camera-lined East Room at the White House on Monday with aplomb, like the finales of his former television program, with the moment staged to be as much about his role as the decider in chief as about a seat on the high court.
And Trump, who confides daily in a far-flung network of advisers and associates, kept his decision under wraps until hours before the announcement, even as he made calls Monday morning and spent the weekend at his New Jersey golf club huddling with friends such as Fox News host Sean Hannity.
When asked about his choice Sunday, Trump was upbeat in response but deliberately vague.
"It's still – let's say it's the four people. But they're excellent. Every one. You can't go wrong," Trump said.
Monday's scene, set among white columns and flags, was a rare instance of a norm-shredding president – who has repeatedly turned to raucous arena rallies and fiery tweets as the bastions of his presidency – embracing the traditional trappings of the office to elevate a defining decision, much as he did last year when he nominated Gorsuch.
The White House announced earlier Monday that former Sen.Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., 76, who served on the Senate Judiciary Committee and is close to Senate leaders, had agreed to serve as the "sherpa" for the nominee. That guiding presence – an adviser who works closely with the White House and introduces the nominee to senators, but is not a federal employee – is usually a seasoned party figure. Kyl is a lobbyist in the Washington, D.C., headquarters of Covington & Burling.
Kavanaugh faces many hurdles: an intense media and political spotlight, and a divided Senate where Republicans hold just 51 seats. Senate Democrats running for reelection in states won by Trump are also facing thorny political dynamics – support the nominee and appeal to Trump's voters, or oppose and rally their own party? Moderate Republicans, meanwhile, are on edge about how the nominee will respond to questions about social issues such as abortion.
The White House on Monday invited several key lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats, to the announcement. One of them was Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who declined to attend the event.
"I'll get a better sense watching," she told reporters.
Senate Democrats such as Joe Manchin, W.Va., Heidi Heitkamp, N.D., Doug Jones, Ala., and Joe Donnelly, Ind., were also invited but declined to attend.
"While I appreciate the invitation from the White House to attend this evening's announcement, I declined so that I can meet first with the nominee in a setting where we can discuss his or her experience and perspectives," Donnelly said in a statement.
Those red-state Democrats will be under pressure from conservative groups to get behind Trump's nominee.
The Judicial Crisis Network, which launched an ad blitz in the wake of Kennedy's retirement last month, announced Monday that it is embarking on a week-long, $1.4 million ad campaign touting the nominee's personal story. The new round of ads will run nationally and will also target four states – Alabama, Indiana, North Dakota and West Virginia.
Kennedy's role at the center of a court equally balanced between more predictable conservatives and more consistent liberals made him the most essential member of the modern Supreme Court. His replacement by a former clerk has been something he has mused about – his proteges are strewn throughout the federal judiciary – even if they are more conservative than he is.
Kennedy cast the deciding vote that found a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry. He determined how far government may go to intrude on a woman's right to an abortion, and how and when it is appropriate for government to exercise affirmative action. His decisions shielded juveniles and the intellectually disabled from the death penalty. He found that those seized in the fight against terrorism had rights in U.S. courts.
His successor will probably not share those views, although it is unclear if and how quickly the court might move to change those decisions.
But an apt comparison might be 2006, when Samuel Alito replaced another justice who had occupied the center of the court, Sandra Day O'Connor. Both were chosen by Republican presidents, but Alito moved the court to the right on issues such as campaign finance restrictions and affirmative action.
Kavanaugh has served on the federal bench for 12 years. Before becoming a judge, he was a fast-rising Republican lawyer who first gained notice decades ago when he helped to investigate Clinton under Starr.
Kavanaugh has since argued that presidents should not be distracted by civil lawsuits, criminal investigations, or even questions from a prosecutor or defense lawyer while in office.
A Yale Law School graduate, Kavanaugh was plunged into national politics when he was tasked in 1994 with investigating the death of Clinton's deputy counsel, Vincent Foster, and later with laying out the grounds for impeaching Clinton in the wake of the president's affair with a White House intern.
Bush nominated Kavanaugh to the appeals court in 2003, but Democrats held up his confirmation for three years because of his work in the Bush White House and on the Starr report. He was confirmed in 2006 by a vote of 57 to 36.
On the D.C. Circuit, Kavanaugh has been a consistent conservative with rulings that often advance executive power and restrain the government bureaucracy. In a ruling later reversed by his colleagues, Kavanaugh declared unconstitutional the structure of a consumer watchdog agency, finding that it gives too much executive control to a "single unaccountable, unchecked director." In a Second Amendment case, Kavanaugh said he would have struck down D.C.'s regulations banning certain semiautomatic long guns.
Though he is considered to the right of Kennedy, a recent opinion on abortion has prompted criticism from some conservatives. Last fall, Kavanaugh ruled against an immigrant teenager in federal custody who sought to immediately terminate her pregnancy – but he did not go as far as another D.C. Circuit judge who said the teen had no constitutional right to an elective abortion.
Kavanaugh grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, and attended Georgetown Preparatory School, the same Jesuit high school as Gorsuch. He is an observant Catholic, regularly attending church at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two daughters. He serves meals at a local Catholic Charities program.
The selection of Kavanaugh underscored the influence that traditional Republicans have maintained in Trump's judicial nominations even as they struggle in the administration and on Capitol Hill to drive debates on trade and other policies.
Going back to his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump has entrusted White House counsel Donald McGahn, a low-key conservative who served as the campaign's lawyer, and outside groups such as the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation to cull his list of prospects for the federal bench.
While the relationship between McGahn and Trump has routinely been strained over the past year because of the special counsel probe into Russia's election interference and possible obstruction of justice by the president, Trump has nevertheless continued to rely heavily on McGahn and Federalist Society Executive Vice President Leonard Leo, along with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
McGahn advised Trump to pick Gorsuch, then a Colorado appeals court judge, to fill the previous Supreme Court opening. McGahn has also shepherded the administration's focus on transforming the lower federal courts. Trump has seen more than 35 of his nominees confirmed, more than doubling the total for President Barack Obama at the same point in his presidency.
Staunch support for Kavanaugh from McGahn and Leo was crucial during the close of the search. As Trump deliberated, they spoke with him by phone and talked up Kavanaugh's record as rock-solid evidence of his conservatism, now and in the years ahead, according to two people involved in the process.
McGahn was also positive about Kavanaugh in recent exchanges with key Republican senators and their advisers, in particular those, including Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who have questioned Kavanaugh's conservatism based on various rulings he has made on health care and abortion, the people said.
Still, McGahn, Leo and other admirers of Kavanaugh were careful throughout their discussions with Trump to avoid tilting the president in that direction, knowing from their past deliberations that Trump is susceptible to taking a contrarian view if he feels he is being pushed too hard toward a position that is encouraged by many Republican leaders, the people added.
McConnell did not rally around Kavanaugh in his conversations with Trump. In a Friday phone call, the GOP Senate leader instead noted that Hardiman or Kethledge could be easier to confirm in the Senate, according to two Republicans briefed on the call who were not authorized to speak publicly and so spoke on the condition of anonymity.
McConnell observed that those two candidates appeared to lack the political charge that has infused the Supreme Court candidacies of Kavanaugh and Barrett, with scrutiny surrounding Kavanaugh's records from his rapid ascent, as well as Barrett's social views, the Republicans said.
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About The 2nd District
The Second District held its first session on April 24, 1905. It is now made up of four counties, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. There are eight Divisions of four justices each. Divisions 1-5, 7 and 8 are located in Los Angeles, and handle all matters arising from the Los Angeles Superior Court. Division 6 is located in Ventura and handles all matters from the Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Superior Courts.
Courts of Appeal review final judgments of Superior Courts for prejudicial errors of law. Most appellate dispositions are by written opinion. The Second District files over 5,000 appellate opinions each year. Courts of Appeal have original jurisdiction over writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, and certiorari. Writ petitions may be disposed of by summary order or written opinion. The Second District disposes over 3,700 writ petitions yearly.
Cases are decided by randomly selected three Justice panels. There are 32 Justices in the Second District. Justices are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. Newly appointed Justices must be retained by the public at the next general election and at the end of each 12 year term.


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Bit.ly, HootSuite (with its Ow.ly service), Ad.ly and perhaps even Smel.ly could well be at risk of having their domain names sudden.ly taken away by the Libyan government.
Ben Metcalfe blogs that his domain name vb.ly was recently seized by NIC.ly (the domain registry and controlling body for the Libyan domain space) because the content of his website, at least in their opinion, was in violation of Libyan Islamic/Sharia Law.
The story gets worse.
If you're interested, you'd be well advised to read Metcalfe's and Violet Blue's blog posts in full.
Here's the gist (from Metcalfe's end conclusion):
– .ly domains deemed to be in violation of NIC.ly regulation are being deregistered and removed without warning – causing significant inconvenience and damage.
– .ly domains are being deregistered and removed due to reasons that do not correspond to the regulations defined in the official NIC.ly Regulations.
– NIC.ly seems to want to extend their reach beyond the domain itself and regulate the content of websites that use a .ly domain. The concept amounts to censorship and makes .ly domains untenable to be used for user-generated content or url shorteners.
– Libyan Islamic/Sharia Law is being used to consider the validity of domains, which is unclear and obscure in terms of being able to know what is allowed and what isn't.
– NIC.ly have suddenly decided that <4 letter .ly domains should only be available to local Libyans and this appears to create motivation to recover what premium domains they can to go back into this new local-only pot of domains.
It's of course the third and fifth points that could spell trouble for URL shorteners and other services with short brand and domain names ending in .ly (like the ones cited in the beginning of the article). I hope for their sakes that this turns out to be isolated case.
(Via Hacker News)


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Hawaiʻi Police Department
Criminal Investigations Section, Area I
Lieutenant Gregory Esteban
Phone: 961-2252
Report No. C13000478
Media Release
Police have identified a swimmer who was reported missing while swimming at a popular Puna beach.
Eric T. Dietz, 29, who has no permanent address, was last seen in the waters off Kehena Beach in Lower Puna shortly before 2:40 p.m. Sunday (January 6). He apparently was experiencing difficulties in returning to shore amid the rough ocean conditions. A body boarder managed to get within reach of Dietz but then lost sight of him after he himself was caught in the rough surf before returning to shore safely.
Dietz is also known as "Eroz" and "Arrows." He is described as Caucasian, about 5-foot-11, about 150 pounds with hazel eyes, brown hair and facial hair. He also has a multi-colored tattoo on his upper right arm that depicts a bird, a spider and a tortoise shell.
Police ask that anyone with information on this case or who knows his whereabouts call the Police Department's non-emergency line at 935-3311 or Detective Joel Field at 961-2381. Detective Field may also be reached by email at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn't record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.


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Disney Interactive has released the Disney Infinity: Toy Box Starter Pack (2.0 Edition), a Disney-themed Starter Pack featuring Disney Originals Figures of Merida and Stitch, as well as new Toy Box Games set in the worlds of Lilo and Stitch and Brave. Along with the new versions of Stitch and Merida, the company plans to add Donald Duck, Tinker Bell, Maleficent, and Aladdin, as well as Hiro and Baymax from the upcoming Big Hero 6 to the Disney Originals Figures line.
This special edition Starter Pack lets fans use existing Disney figures and Power Discs, new Disney Originals characters, and the latest additions from Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes.


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Residents of one Jamaica apartment building say they are living in hell, spending their nights shivering and waiting for their homes to "freeze over" before repairs are made.
Numerous tenants of Loval Hall, located at 88-22 Parsons Boulevard, have complained about dangerous and unlivable conditions in their apartments – including leaky roofs, shoddy plumbing and no heat overnight.
"There's something wrong here – it is a nightmare," said Amy Anderson, the building's tenant representative. "Every night, the heat has been off from around midnight to 6 a.m. If the oil tank is empty or very low they don't fill it and we don't get heat. If you call the landlord you get a recording machine and no one calls you back. The thing that frightens me most is that nobody seems to care."
Anderson says tenants receive little to no aid from the landlord, New York Affordable Housing, or superintendent, John Alba.
Naomi Ferdoushi, who lives with her husband and 6-month-old son, says her family has contracted serious illnesses due to the lack of heat.
"The baby wakes up and cries a lot," said Ferdoushi. "He got a cough, and last week my baby and I both had a fever. He was so sick I had to take him to the emergency room."
Ferdoushi also says her radiator leaks into the apartment below and that the super threatened he would close the heat for the entire building if she did not turn hers off.
Shameema Ferdousi, who lives directly below Ferdoushi, said the radiator leaks directly onto her daughter's bed.
"For the past several weeks, water floods into the room all night and soaks the bed when the radiator upstairs is on," she said.
Proctor Martin, who shares an apartment with his wife, two kids and elderly mother-in-law, says the conditions throughout his home make him fear for his family's well being.
"I had a front door with a rope instead of a knob for four months. If there was a fire, I don't know what I would have done," said Martin, whose family has lived in the building for almost four decades. "There was a leak in the sink for about a year. After they fixed it, the tiles popped up because of the leak. For months, about a third of the floor was covered with tiles and the rest was exposed plywood. You have to go through highways and hell to get [Alba] to do anything."
Martin says both his door and floor were recently fixed – only because he took the landlord to court and the judge ordered the work be completed.
Sergio Gonzalez, a tenant for 38 years, has had a myriad of difficulties in his apartment, including all his windows being bolted shut – which the landlord was ordered by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to correct – and a broken toilet, forcing him to relieve himself in a waste paper basket for eight days.
The building's sewers were also backed up from February to May of last year, causing feces to frequently flood the alleyway.
Although the problem was eventually resolved with the help of HPD, the department says the super did deny them access to the building multiple times.
Many residents have also expressed concern regarding the building's ability to sustain a proper evacuation in the event of a fire.
Anderson says she has found emergency fire exits locked, and the fire escapes are old and bent with a significant amount of rust – making them potentially incapable of supporting people during an evacuation.
The landlord received a violation and an order to fix the fire escape from the FDNY on February 2.
According to an HPD spokesperson, Loval Hall currently has 86 open violations, 18 of which were issued this past January. From 2002 to 2011, HPD spent roughly $20,600 to perform emergency repairs on hazardous violations, due to the lack of corrective action by the owner.
HPD's Housing Litigation Division (HLD) has also been involved in 12 cases in housing court filed against the owner between 2005 and 2011. HLD recently resolved a Comprehensive Case against the landlord, ordering the correction of all outstanding violations, due to the owners' failure to do so in a timely manner. The case included $20,030 in civil penalties.
Despite the countless complaints by residents, New York Affordable was removed from Public Advocate Bill de Blasio's worst landlords list in November for trimming the building's violations down from 144. A spokesperson for de Blasio says the building still requires significant improvements and the history of tenant harassment calls for close attention.
Repeated attempts to contact New York Affordable went unreturned.
Alba says the building has improved dramatically since he became super and that Anderson has been unwilling to work with him to further improve living conditions. Among the recent enhancements the super says he has made is the installation of security cameras, wireless temperature sensors and a new water pump.
"This building, with the violations, was bad," said Alba. "I told Ms. Anderson to give me six months in the building before you call the Department of Buildings, and she refused to do that. I have not gotten a lot of complaints about the heat either – only from [Anderson]. The boiler is set on winter, so it automatically goes on and off. It is not on manual, but I sleep comfortably."
Beyond dangers within their apartments, numerous tenants have also expressed fear due to Alba, who they say has physically and verbally assaulted, as well as harassed them.
"He pushed me in front of my wife. I went to ask him about the door knob and he pushed me," said Martin. "On Christmas, my son and his friend were talking in the hallway and the super said, 'You better get out of my hallway or watch what I'll do.' This guy is acting like a bouncer."
Martin, an African American, also says the super has directed racial slurs towards him.
Anderson, who has a restraining order against Alba, claims he has threatened, cursed and spit at her.
"He has gone after me, Sergio, the Martins, and has threatened people not to call 3-1-1 or open their mouths," she said.
Gonzalez also claims the super peeped into his bathroom window – which looks out onto the alleyway – while he was showering and cut his television antenna on the roof.
"It's a nightmare living here," said Gonzalez, who has filed six incidents with the NYPD against Alba, including one for petit larceny, one for criminal mischief and four for harassment. "Nobody would want to live so close to this devil. He harasses me 10 to 12 times a day. He verbally harasses me with all the nasty words you can imagine. He has told me he's going to kill me. One time he made his hand like a gun and shot at me."
According to Ferdousi, the most frightening feature is the landlord's attempt to force her from her apartment by claiming she does not pay her rent – which she says she always mails on time.
"I send my rent certified mail with return receipts," Ferdousi said. "They are doing this to harass me to get me out and raise the rent."
Currently, three families have harassment cases against Alba and New York Affordable.
Alba, who admits to formerly having a drug problem and serving time in prison for robbery, claims he has never harassed or harmed any tenants.
"Am I aggressive sometimes? Yes," he said. "When I see people trying to plot against me, yes I'm going to be aggressive. They say I harass them, but they spend all their days calling newspapers and the city departments. They have nothing better to do. There are no problems in here."
Some residents can attest to Alba's claim, asserting that the building has improved dramatically during his time in charge.
"I've never had a problem with this super," said Lisa Dickstein. "[Anderson] has lied about the super and she thought I would lie when I have had no problem. He has been doing a great job. [Anderson] comes out of nowhere and complains. I have never had a problem with the heat."
Anderson, along with other tenants, believes residents who do not speak out against the super are either immigrants who are unaware of the law or scared of him.
"When you have people from other countries who don't know their rights and they move into a building, if you tell them something and it is not the truth, they have no frame of reference," said Anderson. "They are lying to the people, and they don't know any better. Other people are just too afraid to talk."


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For Halloween I'm dressing as Elly Jackson from the pop-synth group La Roux. Elly wears a "neo cameo" necklace by Australian designer Sylvie Markovina, consisting of two layers of laser-cut acrylic on a brass chain. With a flick of my vector graphics muscles and access to a laser cutter, I made my own version to wear with my Piet Mondrian-inspired jacket from the video for Bulletproof (check back for a tutorial on that soon). You can download the .eps files from Thingiverse to make your own.
Inspired to craft something for Halloween? Be sure to enter it in our CRAFT Halloween contest to win cool prizes. Costumes, decor, food – whatever you create for Halloween is welcome in the contest. Read our full contest page for all the details. Deadline to enter is November 2.
Join Make: Community Today


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Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
Excellent review, I have recently plumped for the revised Uniti2 which has a little more power than the original, very pleased with the musical performance despite it being a one box system.
One could argue that, with the Uniti, this veteran audio manufacturer has set its sights on someone other than the veteran audio consumer. (For their part, companies such as Peachtree, Carat, and Shanling, who also offer perfectionist versions of such new and digitally savvy source-amp combos, are themselves just that: new.) So the question before us isn't merely How good is the Naim Uniti?, but rather How close have they come to hitting their target?
At the heart of the Naim Uniti is a line-level preamplifier and a relatively low-power amplifier, designed for optimal performance with each other and with certain source components and loudspeakers. Naim Audio has been rather good at this sort of thing since the days of their first Nait integrated amplifierbut whereas the Naim buyer of 30 years ago could virtually be counted on to use a Linn or Rega phonograph as a source, and to choose from a limited range of English boxes as loudspeakers, the integrated amp of 2010 must be considerably more catholic.
Naim has also established a newer reputation, for their more generally popular CD players. Yet it's fair to say that Naim's digital players have also been among the least compromising in the perfectionist market, with their reliance on older, more conservative chipsets and their resolutely manual approach to disc loading.
Thus, a combined integrated amplifier and CD player from Naim seems natural, if not inevitable. In the Uniti, the former takes shape as a 50Wpc amp with five line-level inputs of the analog sort (three with phono sockets, one with a DIN socket (footnote 1), and one with a 3.5mm mini-jack) and five of the digital sort (two with phono sockets, two with TosLink sockets, and one with a 3.5mm mini-TosLink). The CD-playing part of the equation will be familiar to anyone who's visited a Naim Audio dealer within the past 10 years: The Uniti's disc transport is built into one of Naim's swing-out, sickle-shaped drawers, created with both acoustic isolation and the elimination of needless electronic junk in mind, while the details of its various functions are relayed to the user on a smallish screen at the other end of the front panel. All of the control buttons one might expect to find, and a few that one might not, appear on both that front panel and on the nicely laid-out remote handset.
But the Uniti has a great many more good tricks. The first of these is its built-in radio, capable of playing any and all FM or DAB broadcasts to which the user's antenna can respond. (Said antennanot includedplugs into an F-style connector on the Uniti's rear panel.) Of course, DAB broadcasts, the likes of which have been available for years in most developed nations, are not available to those of us who live in the US (footnote 2). But I hesitate to complain, for fear of giving the impression that I hate our freedom.
Uniti owners can also avail themselves of iRadio broadcasts, which the Uniti can receive either through its Ethernet input socket or by means of a removable wireless network antenna (included). That same interface can also be used to play music data streamed from sources compatible with the Universal Plug-n-Play (UPnP) protocol, such as a Roku Soundbridge, a Philips Streamium, or a PC or Mac running such digital-media-player software as Allegro or EyeConnect.
Up next is the Uniti's memory-stick interface, addressed by means of a front-mounted USB (Type A) jack. This feature works only with Windows-formatted memory devices, and supports MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, WAV, FLAC, WMA, and Ogg Vorbis files, but not Apple's AIF format.
Finally, the Uniti has a rear-panel iPod socket, the use of which requires an accessory Naim n-Link cablenot included, although Naim kindly sent along a sample of the n-Link with my Uniti review sample. As with most such products, the Uniti's socket provides the appropriate voltage for charging an iPod during playback.
The Uniti was that rare review sample that I did not pry apart for a look inside. Naim electronics in general have become more and more difficult for the consumer to dissectone can no longer tell for sure which chassis bolt fastens the lid, and which secures a 3-lb transformer whose unmooring might prove a nuisance during shipping. The Uniti was in keeping with that trend. The casing was Naim's usual aluminum extrusion, painted with their usual textured black paint. Beyond that I haven't a clue, and can only wait to read what John Atkinson's lab tests reveal.
Installation and setup
One might expect so comprehensive a product to require more than the usual degree of involvement from the user, both during and after installation. So it goes hereand thus a review of the product itself can't be complete without a review of its user manual.
Footnote 2: Other than Sirius-XM.Ed.
Excellent review, I have recently plumped for the revised Uniti2 which has a little more power than the original, very pleased with the musical performance despite it being a one box system.


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When it comes to your Harley-Davidson one of the most prominent parts on your bike is the Air Cleaner. It is the focal point of your V-Twin and vital to providing peak performance. RSD air cleaners have been designed to maximize air flow in the most stylish way possible. Available in a variety of finishes including Black-Ops, Contrast-Cut, Chrome and Machine-Ops, our air cleaners are available for nearly every late model Harley and with a wide variety of styles and collections we will have one that fits your look.
All of our air cleaners come equipped with washable high flow K&N filter elements, so free up the airflow of your Softail, Dyna, Sportster or Touring bike and ditch that ugly restrictive ham can.


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Taste Advantage LLC introduces natural Whey Masker-1 to beverage manufacturers. Whey Masker-1 is a new ingredient that has been specially formulated to help overcome the dry, rough puckering sensations often associated with the consumption of whey protein in high acid beverage applications.
Whey is an advantageous ingredient but it has its drawbacks. Seen as a good source of protein, whey is more water soluble than Casein protein. Whey is often utilized over other sources of protein in beverages, because it remains clear and is relatively stable to heat at low pHs, which makes it a favored candidate for high acid, hot packed beverages. Other proteins tend to denature when exposed to the heat and acid required in hot packing resulting in "hazy" beverages or sediment from the protein losing solubility.


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Ever since the Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates to unlimited and undisclosed special interest and corporate spending in our elections, President Obama has repeatedly warned that these undisclosed contributions will give special interests even more power over politicians. And, with that power, they plan to return to the days when lobbyists wrote the laws in Washington to benefit special interests at the expense of the American people.
The President fought hard to block this troubling development by repeatedly calling on Congress to pass the DISCLOSE Act -- legislation that would establish the strongest-ever disclosure requirements for election-related spending by special interests. But Congressional Republicans blocked every attempt we made to put our democracy back where it belongs -- in the hands of the American people. Their opposition wasn't rooted in policy differences, because they've supported this type of legislation in the past. Rather, it was a cynical decision based on electoral considerations. And now, thanks to aggressive investigative reporting, we are getting a glimpse of the consequences lax disclosure rules have on our political process.
The New York Times reported today that one Texas billionaire alone has given at least $13 million to outside groups that are able to accept donations of unlimited size and are spending tens of millions of dollars on misleading, negative ads. This donor refused interviews, but his spokesman said, "We'll let the donations speak for themselves." And NBC News reported yesterday that this special interest money has been pouring in to these shadowy groups at such a rate in the past few weeks that they expect to raise as much as $250 million between now and Election Day.
Donations to many of these groups never have to be disclosed, which means the American people no longer have the right to know who is financing ads that are "overwhelmingly spreading exaggerations and falsehoods" in an attempt to influence an election. As the President said yesterday: "They could be insurance companies. They could be Wall Street banks. We don't know. We don't know who it is."
And this kind of activity is not limited to election season; it is a year-round campaign to take over our democracy as these groups attempt to bully lawmakers and distort key legislation on behalf of corporate interests.Additional reporting, based on corporate records, revealed a number of contributions from major corporations to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. For instance, Dow Chemical gave the Chamber $1.7 million last year as it fought rules tightening security requirements at chemical facilities. Prudential Financial gave the Chamber $2 million last year as the Chamber led a national advertising campaign against new financial regulations. And there was little doubt that Prudential expected a return on its investment. The company spokesman admitted that the money was designed to influence votes. "I am not suggesting it is a coincidence," he said in the Times story.
These types of stories about special interest power grabs will only become more common until Congressional Republicans end their blockade against stronger disclosure rules, like the DISCLOSE Act. Otherwise we risk a situation where laws are being made with shadowy special interests who hide behind their checkbooks, and not based on what's in the best interest of the American people.
And, more importantly right now, these groups spending millions ought to be straight with the American people. Who is funding your ads – and what do they expect in return?
Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director


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We're now 26 days out from the May 29 primary, which means more campaign finance reports from candidates for state and county offices who are in contested primaries. I'm going to post about all of these, starting today with reports from Harris County candidates for state offices. Here are the Democrats, whose reports are linked from my 2012 Democratic primary election page:
Candidate Office Raised Spent Loans Cash
Nilsson SBOE6 1,100 1,267 0 1,092
Jensen SBOE6 8,105 9,462 0 4,699
Scott SBOE6 200 474 0 346
Allen HD131 103,451 52,965 0 60,002
Adams HD131 17,930 70,768 411 24,110
Madden HD137 15,968 12,232 0 13,987
Smith HD137 29,352 24,993 0 6,255
Winkler HD137 15,575 4,170 20,000 35,914
Wu HD137 35,579 30,539 0 73,468
Perez HD144 48,120 20,238 0 40,729
Risner HD144 9,315 15,158 0 4,156
Ybarra HD144 4,650 7,586 0 27
Miles HD146 16,600 27,776 730,000 58,573
Edwards HD146 14,449 13,685 0 764
Coleman HD147 41,525 39,052 0 84,433
Hill HD147
My post on the January reports is here. Some thoughts about these reports:
I think we can say that Rep. Alma Allen has eradicated the early lead Wanda Adams had in cash on hand. The establishment has rallied to Rep. Allen's side, as is usually the case with an incumbent in good standing. A lot of money has already been spent in this race, and I don't expect that to change over the next four weeks.
Usually, establishment support and fundraising prowess go hand in hand, but not always. HD137 is one of the exceptions, as Gene Wu has been the strongest fundraiser despite garnering only one endorsement (that I'm aware of) so far – HAR, which is certainly a nice get but not a core Democratic group. Joe Madden and Jamaal Smith have racked up the endorsements but don't have the financial support to match. Other than there will be a runoff, I have no idea what will happen in this race.
For a variety of reasons, many organizations have not endorsed in HD144. The candidates got off to a late start thanks to the changes made to the district in the second interim map, and no one had much to show in their January finance reports. HCC Trustee Mary Ann Perez, who has the backing of Annie's List, clearly distinguished herself this cycle, which will undoubtedly help her in a part of town that's not used to having competitive D primaries for State Rep. The other news of interest in this race has nothing to do with fundraising. Robert Miller reported on candidate Kevin Risner having had three arrests for DUI, a fact that I'm sure was going to come out sooner or later. Miller, who's a Perez supporter, thinks Risner is in a good position to win the primary. I'm not sure I agree with his analysis, but we'll see.
Poor Al Edwards. It's hard running a race without Tom Craddick's buddies, isn't it? I think Rep. Miles is going to break the pattern of alternating victories this year. On a side note, the Observer's Forrest Wilder listened to my interview with Rep. Miles, even if he didn't link to it. I guess he's not much of a fan of either candidate in this race.
As of this writing, Ray Hill had not filed a 30 Day report. He finally did file a January report that listed no money raised or spent.
Here are the Republicans:
Candidate Office Raised Spent Loans Cash
Cargill SBOE8 4,474 10,059 0 18,626
Ellis SBOE8 6,614 2,795 0 5,224
McCool SD11 5,957 4,959 0 997
Norman SD11 6,200 44,086 30,000 1,007
Taylor SD11 344,708 330,586 0 169,468
Huberty HD127 77,536 44,423 0 64,691
Jordan HD127 791 1,731 0 0
Davis HD129 49,816 42,193 0 70,317
Huls HD129 1,482 1,314 0 167
Callegari HD132 67,385 27,632 0 258,286
Brown HD132 2,275 2,380 0 93
Murphy HD133 110,665 89,167 0 211,004
Witt HD133 9,043 139,943 240,100 34,207
Bohac HD138 38,975 18,931 0 44,094
Smith HD138 22,998 13,562 100,000 105,504
Salazar HD143
Weiskopf HD143
Pineda HD144 28,100 6,591 0 19,613
Pena HD144 3,968 1,368 0 0
Lee HD149
Williams HD149
Mullins HD149
Riddle HD150 8,175 24,461 0 92,216
Wilson HD150 11,900 8,520 1,100 4,272
Note that there are differences from the last time. In January, there was a four-way race for HD136, which was eliminated by the San Antonio court in each of the interim maps. Ann Witt, who had been one of the candidates in HD136, moved over to HD133 and replaced the previous challenger, who apparently un-filed during the second period. In that second period, HD144 incumbent Ken Legler decided to drop out, and incumbent Dwayne Bohac picked up an opponent, and multiple people filed in HDs 143, 144, and 149.
Candidates Frank Salazar in HD143 and Jack Lee in HD149 did not have reports filed as of posting time. Their opponents did have reports filed, but those reports are not viewable until each candidate in the race has filed.
Witt had loaned herself $100K as of January; she has since more than doubled that amount. Whet Smith dropped $100K on himself in his challenge against Bohac. Why he'd do that and not have spent any of it as of the reporting deadline is a question I can't answer. His $23K raised is a decent amount for the time period, but having more cash on hand with 30 days to go than the amount you loaned yourself makes no sense to me.
I'm surprised there hasn't been more money raised in HD144. That's a key pickup opportunity for Dems. Gilbert Pena has run for office twice before – HD143 in 2010, and SD06 in 2008 – and I had assumed he'd be the frontrunner in this primary because of that. Am I missing something here?
That's all I've got. I'll work on the other Dem primaries in Texas and the Harris County races next.


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The following is an email I sent to Chris Matthews and the staff of Hardball in regards to Tony Perkins's appearance on the show yesterday. It is imperative that as many of us also submit emails. You can feel free to use my letter or submit your own. The email address is email@example.com
To: Chris Matthews and the staff of Hardball,
Dear Mr. Matthews,
On November 29, you had Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council on your show speaking against the designation of his organization as an official anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. In making his point, Mr. Perkins committed several distortions which need to be brought to your attention.
1. When he cited work from the American College of Pediatricians as proof that homosexuality is a "dangerous lifestyle," he did not mention that this organization is not a legitimate medical group. The American College of Pediatricians is not a legitimate medical group. It is a sham organization dedicated to the laundering of junk science about the lgbt community, i.e. the kind of "science" which demonizes the lgbt community. One of its chief researchers was George Rekers, that is before he got caught coming from a European trip with a "rentboy."
Earlier this year, the American College of Pediatricians tried to push a webpage, Facts About Youth, to American schools.
Among other things, this site made the following claims about gay men:
Some gay men sexualize human waste, including the medically dangerous practice of coprophilia, which means sexual contact with highly infectious fecal wastes
2. Perkins claimed according to a study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, 86 percent of men who molest children identified as gay. He conveniently did not mention that in the study of 229 convicted child molesters, 63 victims were male, and 166 victims were female. Eighty-six percent of 63 isn't a drop in the bucket and it's certainly not enough to make a generalization in regards to the gay community.
I am well aware of the fact that when discussing controversial issues, journalists have a duty to show a degree of parity and present "both sides." However, journalists also have a duty to call out any distortions made by either side of the issue.
At the very least, I would hope that you and your staff come to the realization that when it comes to discussing gay issues, neither Tony Perkins nor anyone else in the Family Research Council can be trusted to be accurate or truthful.
Thank you for your time,
Alvin McEwen
Feel free to copy what is in this letter or send your own. But by all means, please be polite. We have a right to be angry with how Perkins distorts facts to demonize us, but we are still a people with dignity. The point is to let Matthews know how Perkins and FRC lie about lgbt issues.


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"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
No, Society, There Is No Santa Claus
Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Exclusive to STR
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? "VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET." "VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. "Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. "Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. "You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. "No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."
So let me here, in 2011, proclaim No, Society, There Is No Santa Claus!
G'day Alex R. Knight III,
"...when used in pleadings and other documents in our Court system..." is the qualifier.
Is Elmer Fudd a pseudonym or does 'he' have substance? Elmer Fudd, when used in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, is not a pseudonym and does have substance.
Like the State of New Hampshire, Elmer Fudd is an artificial person, which, in the case of State of New Hampshire, is a person, "created and devised by human laws for the purposes of society and government, as distinguished from natural persons[1]", (who are created by nature and do have substance, [as this word is commonly understood]).
Is "Society" a pseudonym or does it have substance? Cute. LOL
[1] Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition (c.1991), page 113
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Suverans2, "society" is indeed a pseudonym (reification, I think, might be a better word). You exist -- I exist -- those we love exist.
Good analysis, Alex!
- "...as if willful blindness is hailed as a kind of virtue. As if deceit, both from without, and self-deception, are to be regarded as virtues rather than serious impediments to rational judgement..."
Lately I've felt compelled to default to Delmar England's rather difficult to read but salient treatise on reification and its effect upon those of us attempting to lead a free and anarchic lifestyle. As a Sovereign State I can only look upon the Peter Heeds of the world, as well as the Blacks (who presumed to define "legality"), as members of a criminal gang -- far more dangerous than non-government criminals. Non-government criminals do not generally attempt to lend legitimacy to their actions. They may make excuses for their behaviors, but they don't believe -- nor do they try to convince me -- that what they do is legal. They seek my resources -- not my support.
Non-government gangsters expect no pledges of allegiance. The danger of government criminals is in their sincerity (to wit: Ron Paul).
You've discovered that reliance for a definition upon an individual so steeped in the "legitimacy of state" as is Heed is futile.
Better a cruel truth than a comfortable delusion — Edward Abbey
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Regulations for the medical use of marijuana in Massachusetts are scheduled to be adopted next month, but even then, many key details will remain unresolved, making it likely that dispensaries will not open for many months, a top state health official said Wednesday.
Dr. Lauren Smith, the interim public health commissioner, said in an interview after a meeting of the state Public Health Council that her agency has "a lot of operational challenges" to confront before dispensaries could open, including the development of an interactive, online database that will allow police to check whether patients have been authorized by their physicians to use marijuana. Physicians would also be required to enter information about the amount of marijuana recommended for each patient.
"We are having to develop from scratch regulatory oversight at the same time an industry is developing from scratch," Smith said.
"We need a thorough, thoughtful review process," she said. "To do it right, it's going to take time."
For more than two hours Wednesday, Public Health Department staff members detailed the agency's 45 pages of draft regulations to the Public Health Council, an appointed body of academics and health advocates that is slated to vote on the rules May 8. That would clear the way for the rules to go into effect by the end of May.
Iyah Romm, special advisor to the health commissioner, told the council that the answers to many of their questions had not been worked out and that the agency will address the concerns through a "subregulation" process after the panel's May vote.
Among concerns is the plan to require medical marijuana dispensaries to test their products for contamination, including heavy metals and pesticides, even though specialists say it is easier to mandate testing than to do it reliably.
Another issue is whether dispensaries will be required to set aside money to compensate any patients harmed by a product. Federal regulations against medical marijuana could make it difficult for companies to obtain liability insurance.
Voters approved a ballot referendum in November legalizing marijuana for medical use in the state, and that measure required the Department of Public Health to issue regulations to implement the law.
Smith said the Public Health Department has no staff to oversee the medical marijuana program and would depend on money raised from dispensary licensing fees, which have not yet been set, to hire personnel.
Lack of staff was a concern raised by council member Helen Caulton-Harris, Springfield's health and human services director. The draft regulations say the Public Health Department will inspect the facilities, including those that produce and sell edible marijuana products, such as candies and cookies.
Typically, local boards of health inspect food establishments in their communities. Harris said that in her experience, when a local business, such as a massage parlor or a barber shop, falls under state jurisdiction for routine inspections, things fall through the cracks.
"A lot of times, because of staffing shortages, those inspections don't happen in a timely manner," Harris said.
The state's draft rules allow communities to pass local regulations for the dispensaries and assess local fees, as long as they do not conflict with state laws.
Among the provisions not included in the draft rules is reciprocity with other states, so patients certified for medical marijuana use in Massachusetts may not be protected from prosecution elsewhere.
A few states, such as Michigan and Arizona, allow out-of-state patients with proper registration cards to possess marijuana in their states, but most do not, and that has caused some problems, said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, a nonprofit that advocates for research and medical use of marijuana.
"It's a question we get a lot from patients: 'I am traveling and can I take my medicine?' " Sherer said. "Unfortunately, the answer often is, at your own risk."
Kay Lazar can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKayLazar.